Passover and Earth Day Converge: Jewish Climate Activists Share What This Means to Them (Exclusive)

Earth Day and Passover have a few things in common, from honoring the land upon which we live, to giving back (aka tikkun olam). In 2024, the two holidays share not only a few key themes, but overlapping dates. Earth Day will be celebrated all day on Monday April 22; and that evening, Passover begins. For many, the two holidays will be celebrated together this year.

The intersection of Jewish beliefs, environmental justice, plant-based meals, and earth-honoring rituals is a natural one. That's why Green Matters spoke to four proud Jewish climate activists to learn more about the joyous connection shared between Passover and Earth Day.

"With Passover and Earth Day falling on the same date this year, I find inspiration in Jewish history and stories about the will to live l’dor v’dor — generation to generation," Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, the founder and CEO of Dayenu, tells Green Matters exclusively via email.

"As we face the existential threat of an accelerating climate crisis, we need the courage of our ancestors — like the midwives who took radical action to save the lives of newborns and like Nachson, who stepped in the Sea of Reeds, wading into the waters up to his nose, until the sea parted," Rabbi Rosenn continues. "We need bold collective action for systemic change, and the radical imagination to envision a just, sustainable future for all people for generations to come."

"This year, with the first evening of Passover falling on Earth Day, we are given an extra push to think about our holiday of liberation in more expansive ways," Lisa Apfelberg, the executive director of Jewish Veg, tells Green Matters exclusively through email. "For many Jewish plant-based eaters who are celebrating Passover, it is difficult to ignore that the spirit of the holiday — which is all about celebrating and calling for liberation — is contradictory with many of the foods placed on the Seder table."

"Foods that come from the industrialized animal agriculture industry are responsible for the destruction of our natural resources, some of the most egregious treatment of workers, and the horrifying abuse of animals who grow up in miserable and confined ways," Apfelberg continues. "Let us allow the convergence of these two observances to encourage us to expand the ways we are not free and think about how we can make a difference by what we place on our Seder table."

"So many Jewish holidays are connected to land and to the seasons, so when I think about Passover starting on Earth Day it only further enforces that! Much of my climate activism is informed by my connection to Jewish culture and our history, so it makes me happy that two of my favorite holy days are converging," Intersectional Environmentalist cofounder and influencer Sabs Katz exclusively tells Green Matters through email.

"This year, Earth Day falls on the eve of Passover, representing the confluence of the ancient Jewish festival of liberation and springtime harvest with our contemporary holiday elevating awareness of our connection to and responsibility for the Earth," Yoni Stadlin, the chief immersive programs officer at Adamah, writes to Green Matters in an email.

"The Passover story reminds us that sometimes, a dramatic shift, such as getting up and leaving what we have been accustomed to, is what is called for," he continues. "With Earth Day coinciding with Passover this year, we are called to ask ourselves and each other, 'what dramatic exodus from our old ways is needed to ensure the protection of our natural world?'"